RE: [split] Mob Discussion
When asked by Tiki if I had any issues I wanted brought up with the Sports Committee, my main one pertained to what I feel is one of our most pressing needs at Football and Basketball games: Dramatically increasing the size of the MOB and BOB.
Let me first say that I’m very appreciative of all the efforts of the current MOB/BOB leadership and membership. You guys aren’t the problem – in fact, I’m so appreciative that you keep hanging in there with what appears to be a slowly dying organization. I’ve got no problems with the scripts, music, etc. It’s just that the band has gotten so small that it no longer adds what helps make other football/basketball events special – a large, loud and rousing band.
I’ve got my thoughts regarding why I think the MOB is getting smaller each year – some based on what I experienced as a MOB member back in ‘78 and ’79; others based on feedback I’ve gotten from recent Rice Students. I’d be curious to hear what current MOB members/leaders think about these issues.
Students don’t want to join the MOB anymore: Back in the late 70’s, just about all Freshmen that had High School band experience wanted to join the MOB. We all did. Whether or not we thought the MOB was cool or not, we all wanted to join because it was a way to be part of a major campus organization. Even kids who weren’t in High School Band joined up. If you recall, we had lots of people playing kazoos, violins, guitars, etc. It truly was a MOB of people. I’m going by memory, but I want to say there were at least 200 or so of us in the MOB back then. Most of us only stayed in a year or two, but every year there were always 70 or 80 freshmen that were anxious to sign up. Come basketball season, we always had 40 or so MOB members willing to play at the basketball games. I’ve heard from current students that joining the MOB is no longer the popular thing to do. In fact, many of the regular students (not Shepard school people), played band in High School – but hardly any join up for the MOB. I don’t know how to make joining the MOB “cool again” – but that seems to be a major issue.
Performing in the MOB took up almost zero time out of our week: To me, this was a key in getting so many people to join. I played at the end of the Bert Roth era – when the focus was not as much on the music, but on acting crazy on the field and having a strong, politically-incorrect script. We had three, one-hour rehearsals a week, and one on the Field the day of the game. Essentially we would practice in the Band Hall for about 30 minutes on the songs we would be playing that week, then walk out onto the adjacent field and practice running from formation to formation. That was it. Many of us would only attend one of those practice sessions – and that was fine with everyone. It wasn’t like our performance was going to be complicated: 1) Sprint onto the field (usually from the tunnel or from locations throughout the stadium where we were hidden amongst the crowd). 2) Get into a formation, listen to the narrator, play a song. 3) Repeat Step 2 three more times. 4) Sprint off the Field. A lot of us never went to practice - we just showed up on game day and performed. Granted, the musical performance was mediocre at best, and sometimes we gummed up the formations, but nobody cared. Sometimes that made the show better. We were large, loud, and obnoxious. That’s all our audience wanted. Once Ken Dye took over for Bert, I think the MOB began to puts more energy into improving the musical quality of the product. By then I had dropped out, but I believe as the years have gone by, more practice time is expected of MOB members. If so, that may be one reason for dwindling attendance.
We got paid for being in the MOB: Back then we were all given a $50 “band scholarship” for participating in the MOB. Students today would laugh, but back then $50 meant a lot to us. To earn your $50 you had to participate in a certain percentage of the practices and games. Bottom line, that $50 kept a lot of people coming back every week. Do today’s MOB members get any financial reward for being in the band? Obviously $50 wouldn’t cut it today, but I would think the University ponying up $500 or so for each MOB member would be worth the money – assuming it helps increase the size of the Band.
Playing at Football and Basketball games was fun: Back in the late 70’s we were still in the SWC, and also had a great non-conference schedule. We almost always played in front of large crowds (Varying from 25,000 or so for the TCU, Baylor, and SMU games, to 55,000 or so for Texas, Texas A&M, Arkansas, LSU, Oklahoma games) Playing in front of such huge crowds was a blast. Everybody (except A&M of course) loved us, and we felt like Rock Stars out there. The large crowds would cheer us, and we had a blast performing. I really feel for today’s MOB/BOB members. They play in front of such tiny crowds – it’s not nearly as enjoyable and rewarding as it was for us. I’m afraid there’s just no fixing that. Unless we move up to a P5 conference, the days of seeing large crowds like that are over.
To me, those were the main reasons we used to have so many people in the MOB. It wasn’t really a facilities issue – our facilities back then weren’t anything special. The fact is, back then it was fun and rewarding to be in the MOB, and it hardly took any time and effort. I guess in conclusion, there’s no way today’s MOB experience can match what we had crowd-wise, but maybe the amount of students participating can be increased by raising the associated Scholarship money and taking steps to minimize practice time. That’s about the best I can offer. I really hope something is done by the administration to help increase the size of the MOB and BOB – I think it’s something that would add a lot to the game day experience.
One final thought – back then there was no way the MOB would not be traveling to Austin for the Texas game. For us it was the highlight of the season. And, the Texas fans loved us. I really feel bad that MOB members today don’t get to experience that same excitement.
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